December 2, 2013 - Some Assembly Required

Some Assembly Required The first assembly mission of the International Space Station began fifteen years ago this week with the launch of the STS-88 shuttle mission. The unmanned Russian-built Zarya module had been alone in orbit for two weeks, awaiting the arrival of the U.S.-built Unity connecting module. One day after their launch, the crew of STS-88, using the shuttle’s robot arm, unpacked Unity from Endeavour’s cargo bay and mounted it to the shuttle’s docking system. Then, again using the robot arm, Zarya was plucked from orbit and mated to Unity. Afterward, a series of three spacewalks by astronauts Jerry Ross (seen here) and Jim Newman attached exterior cables, connectors and handrails to the station. The ISS has been continuously occupied since November 2000.